1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic head slider locking apparatus for detachably mounting a magnetic head slider, which reads and/or writes data from and to a recording medium such as a hard disk drive, to a magnetic head suspension.
2. Related Art
It is preferable to conduct performance tests on reading properties and/or writing properties as well as levitation properties of a magnetic head slider for reading and/or writing data in accordance with a state of use of the magnetic head slider, that is, in a state where the magnetic head slider is mounted to a magnetic head suspension having a configuration identical with that of a magnetic head suspension to be mounted thereto.
More specifically, an ordinary magnetic head suspension includes a supporting part that is connected directly or indirectly to an actuator such as a voice coil motor, a load bending part that is connected to the supporting part and generates a load to press a magnetic head slider toward a disk surface, a load beam part that is connected to the load bending part so as to transmit the load to the magnetic head slider, and a flexure part that has a head mount region to which the magnetic head slider is mounted and is supported by the load beam part and the supporting part.
Accordingly, in order to conduct performance tests of the magnetic head suspension in a state corresponding to the used condition thereof, it is necessary to conduct the performance tests in a state where the magnetic head slider is fixed to the head mount region by welding or the like.
However, upon conducting the performance tests in the state where the magnetic head slider is fixed to the head mount region, if the results of the tests on the magnetic head slider are defective, it is necessary to discard not only the magnetic head slider but also the magnetic head suspension to which the magnetic head slider has been fixed, resulting in an increase in cost.
In view of the above, there has been proposed a slider support device for performance tests, which is capable of detachably retaining the magnetic head slider in accordance with a state of use thereof (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-305209, which is to be hereinafter referred to as the prior art document).
The slider support device is provided with, in place of the flexure part of the ordinary magnetic head suspension, a flexure part to which the magnetic head slider is detachably mounted.
More specifically, the flexure part has a load beam part overlap region that is connected to the load beam part while being overlapped therewith, paired outriggers (arm regions) that extend toward a distal end side from both ends in a suspension width direction of the load beam part overlap region, a distal-end-side connection region that extends in the suspension width direction so as to connect the distal ends of the paired outriggers, a head mount region that extends from a center in the suspension width direction of the distal-end-side connection region toward a proximal end side in a suspension longitudinal direction, paired right and left spring portions that are provided on both sides in the suspension width direction of the head mount region and extend from the distal-end-side connection region toward the proximal end side in the suspension longitudinal direction, and a proximal-end-side connection region that extends in the suspension width direction so as to connect proximal ends of the paired spring portions.
The distal-end-side connection region is provided with a first support portion that prevents the magnetic head slider mounted on the head mount region from being shifted toward the distal end side in the suspension longitudinal direction.
The paired spring portions are configured to expand and contract independently from each other.
More specifically, one of the paired spring portions is disposed between the distal-end-side connection region and the proximal-end-side connection region on one side of the head mount region in the suspension width direction. On the other hand, the other one of the paired spring portions is disposed between the distal-end-side connection region and the proximal-end-side connection region on the other side of the head mount region in the suspension width direction.
The proximal-end-side connection region is connected to the distal-end-side connection region by way of the paired spring portions so as to be movable in the suspension longitudinal direction relative to the distal-end-side connection region in a state where a center portion in the suspension width direction of an end surface of the distal end thereof serves as a second support portion capable of engaging with an end surface of the proximal end of the magnetic head suspension mounted on the head mount region.
In the slider support device, in a state where the proximal-end-side connection region is shifted to be spaced apart from the distal-end-side connection region so that the paired spring portions are elastically deformed to expand, when the magnetic head slider is mounted on the head mount region and a force applied onto the proximal-end-side connection region is then canceled, the paired spring portions are contracted so that the magnetic head slider is retained between the first and second support portions.
That is, the slider support device is configured to retain the magnetic head slider on the head mount region with use of the elastic forces of the paired spring portions, without adopting substantially inseparable fixing means such as welding or adhesive joining.
The slider support device described above advantageously realizes the performance tests of the magnetic head slider in accordance with the state of use thereof, as well as enables only the defective magnetic head slider to be discarded. On the other hand, this slider support device has the following problems.
As already described, in the slider support device, the paired spring portions are disposed respectively on the one side and on the other side of the head mount region, and expand and contract independently from each other.
In other words, each of the paired spring portions has the distal end, which serves as a fixed end, connected to the distal-end-side connection region, and the proximal end, which serves as a movable end connected to the proximal-end-side connection region, so as to be supported in a cantilever manner.
It is necessary to provide each of the paired spring portions with an elastically deformable region as large as possible, in order that each of the paired spring portions being supported in a cantilever manner causes a sufficiently strong elastic force in correspondence with the shift of the proximal-end-side connection region so as to be spaced apart from the distal-end-side connection region, while securing sufficiently large expansion and contraction stroke (a range of elastic deformation).
In view of the above, the slider support device described in the prior art document includes the paired spring portions each of which has an accordion shape in a plan view such that convex portions and concave portions are arranged alternately in a plane on which the flexure part is positioned.
The paired spring portions each having such an accordion shape in a plan view secure sufficiently large expansion and contraction strokes thereof as well as increase the elastic forces caused by the paired spring portions. On the other hand, it requires high processing accuracy to form each of the paired spring portions into the accordion shape in a plan view, which results in remarkable increase in cost.
Moreover, in such a spring portion in the accordion shape in a plan view, the convex portions and the concave portions are locally and elastically deformed upon expansion and contraction of the spring portion in correspondence with the shift of the proximal-end-side connection region to contact with or separate from the distal-end-side connection region. Therefore, the spring portion in the accordion shape in a plan view may also have a problem on durability thereof.